deep in the sun-searched growths the dragonfly hangs like a blue thread loosened from the sky

Monday, September 3, 2012

NPR: Memories

Can We Learn To Forget Our Memories? is just the tip of the iceberg on a topic I have pondered for many years. Honestly, without any real hard numbers to back it up I would totally agree with the research. I used to practice forgetting and now have a difficult time recalling small things that happen. I have to make a conscious effort to store information. Having a somewhat photographic memory makes it easier to retrace my steps, but I might have to sit and focus on the memory for awhile.

The most interesting part of the research is that it says that you might not totally forget a memory, but you don't have the same feelings attached to it as when it happened. So, that embarrassing situation is still locked in there somewhere, but you don't blush when you retell the story. Hmmm...

My problem lies in the fact I don't store situations very well. I used to get so much flack in my relationships for not remembering a movie we saw, birthdays, or other 'significant' moments in time. I rely on patterns, feelings, music, and images, to remember a situation, conversation, or choreography. So, be careful. I have actively tried to learn how to forget, and now I have to work at remembering. Just found it interesting to find research on such an deeply personal and odd topic.